Saturday, June 20, 2009

Father's Day Without Dad

I've been thinking about Father's Day tomorrow. Cards will be given. Men will be taken out for breakfast or lunch. $$$$ will have been spent on everything from t-shirts to electronic gadgets to hunting gear. Sermons will be preached...in many cases to dad's who aren't even in the audience.
And I've been thinking about my own father...Eugene Oppeneer. Last Father's Day, my husband and I took him and my mother for a ride past the farm where he had lived for over 85 years, the home they had to leave when living there became too hard for them. During the time they'd lived in an assisted living facility, I'd driven him to regular therapy and doctor's appointments. We'd spent a lot of time together in my car.
I wish I could take him for a ride tomorrow. He'd have liked to see the corn growing in his old fields and look at the neatly cut grass on the lawn. But I won't. Last August, he went to be with The Father, before the corn and beans were ready to harvest.
Today would have been my parents' 67th wedding anniversary. I thank God for making me part of their family.
Happy Father's Day, Dad. I miss you.

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